by Leann Ryans
Though he was having the riders press the horses, they bred and chose them for their strength and stamina. Even with the slight extra weight of the omegas, the horses would be fine racing to the meeting point without a real rest during the day. His warriors knew how to care for a horse being worked hard, and he had no worries that he was doing any real damage to any of them.
The omegas were probably uncomfortable with the ride, being held by a strange alpha atop a galloping horse for hours on end, but they would survive it in one piece. He had chosen his most trusted warriors to carry the girls, with the strict instructions to keep their hands off.
Raider knew Lyric was sore from the ride and her injury, but when he offered her another medicine packet she refused, so he shrugged and put it away. His comments earlier had made her angry with him, but he figured she would get over it eventually. She had to learn that she couldn’t question him, and he definitely would not let her berate him like he had done something wrong. He had done what was needed for his people.
They pressed on through the afternoon, Lyric keeping silent throughout. He thought it was due to her being angry with him, but when he stopped once more to relieve himself, he noticed her vacant, glassy stare when she collapsed as soon as he sat her on the ground.
Catching her as she fell, her head lolled back before she gave herself a shake and tried to stand on her own.
“I don’t think so. Sit,” he said, lowering her to a bit of clear ground beneath the boughs of the blue spruce he had stopped beside.
Making sure he propped her against the trunk where she wouldn’t fall over, he stepped away to grab a blanket and more food from his bag. Sitting on the ground next to her, he pulled Lyric into his lap, wrapping the blanket around her back as he pulled her against his chest. Purring, he stroked her back and held her until she began to stir.
When she lifted her head, he pressed some dried berries to her mouth, urging her to eat. When she tried to turn her head away his purr changed to a rumble of warning.
“You need the sugar in the berries. Eat them.”
With a half-hearted grunt, her lips parted and allowed him to feed her the treats. He made her finish all of them before he pulled out the medicine pack again. Mixing it into the water, he pressed the bottle to her lips. She took a large swig, choking when the bitter taste of the herbs hit her tongue.
Coughing and pushing herself away from him, Lyric turned her head to the side, retching.
“Hold it down. I know it tastes bad, but you need it and I have nothing but water to mix it in. Finish the rest,” he told her, trying to press the bottle back to her lips.
Moaning and shaking her head, she tried to stand from his lap to get away from the bottle. Letting out a growl that caused her to freeze, he offered it again. Slowly wrapping her hands around the bottle, the look on her face caused his growl to stop as he let out a chuckle.
“Drink it all and maybe I’ll think about lessening your punishment.”
The glare she gave him let Raider know that she was doing better than she had been when they stopped. With each grimacing swallow more color seemed to come back to her cheeks and her eyes lost the glossy shine. Stroking her hair back from her face, he kissed her forehead once she finished the bottle.
The heat radiating from her skin shocked him, and he pressed his cheek to her head, trying to gauge if she had a fever or if his skin was just chilled. Running his nose along her neck, his nostrils flared as he scented her.
“Are you feeling okay?” Raider asked quietly.
“Just sore. Tired,” Lyric responded, leaning her head against his collarbone. “Head hurts.”
“I think you have a fever. We need to get back as fast as we can so I can take care of you. Do you think you can keep riding?”
“I’m fine,” she said, sitting up before rising to her feet.
Swaying for a moment, she seemed to shake herself out of it and moved towards the horse. Raider carefully lifted Lyric into the saddle again, taking his seat behind her before tucking the blanket around her body. She snuggled into it as he held her body against his and urged the horse forward. It worried him that the wound in her shoulder may be getting infected, and that was the cause for the fever, but there wasn’t much he could do for her alone in the woods. He needed to get her back to his village and the healer there, or at least to where they were meeting the others.
Within an hour Lyric was pushing the blanket away, her shivers giving way to the heat of the fever. When she leaned forward, he allowed the space so that his body heat wouldn’t drive hers any higher. Her eyes were clenched shut though he could tell she wasn’t sleeping by her body posture. Each jolt caused a tightening through her neck, and he let out a gasp when his hand connected with the skin there.
Raider had reached for her neck to try to soothe the muscles and help her relax, but the near burning heat and streaks of sweat on her skin had him leaning around to look at her face. The beads of moisture collecting on her brow and the damp roots of her hair let him know that they would not make it. They were still a few hours hard ride from the meeting point, and since he had slowed the horse to make her more comfortable, they wouldn’t make it until close to midnight even if they continued on.
Eyes searched the area, finding the best spot for him to make their camp. With no stream nearby, Raider settled at the edge of a small clearing where he could gather snow to melt. All of the warriors had a survival pack on their horse, and he had everything he would need for the two of them to survive for a few days if they needed to.
Jumping from the saddle, he told Lyric to wait there as he began to pull a rope and large waterproof cloth from his pack. When she tipped to the side and slid from the saddle, he almost wasn’t fast enough to catch her.
21. Raider
Laying Lyric on the ground where he planned to make their small tent, Raider pulled open her coat and smoothed her hair away from her face before going back to preparing the site. He couldn’t do anything for her until they had shelter. Moving as quickly as he could, he strung up the rope between two trees and tossed the cloth over it, staking down the corners. There were flaps at the ends that overlapped so it made a small, enclosed space.
Ducking inside, he laid out one of his furs before pulling Lyric’s coat off and moved her on top of it. Rushing back out, he gathered as much firewood as he could find within sight of the tent before starting a fire and beginning to collect snow.
Emptying his saddlebags, he filled them with the snow before taking them into the tent and placing them against her sides. Using a spare cloth, he placed a snowpack on her forehead as well. He needed her to cool down but didn’t want her to end up wet or freezing once the fever broke.
Pulling her shirt off, Raider unwound the bandage and pulled it away from her wound. Red, swollen flesh met his eyes, the stitches cutting into her skin as they attempted to keep the edges of the wound closed. Growling in frustration, he knew he didn’t have what he needed on him to treat her.
Fighting with himself over what to do, Raider stared between the wound and Lyric’s slack features. He checked her pulse and breathing, reassuring himself that she wasn’t in danger yet as long as they kept the fever in check. Not wanting to leave her alone, he knew he would have to if he wanted to find the plant he needed to pull the infection from the wound.
Raider rolled her onto her side to check the backside of it. Pulling out his knife, he carefully cut the bottom two stitches to allow the wound to drain and reduce the swelling. Placing a clean pad against it, he laid her back down.
With another rough growl, Raider stood and turned away. Leaving the water next to her, there was nothing else he could do with what he had on hand. He knew what he needed to pull the infection from the wound, but it was hard to find, only growing in damp caves. There was a ridge of cliffs not far to the north that he was sure would be riddled with cave systems and the fungus they used for infection and fever, but he hated leaving Lyric alone.
Throwing himself i
nto the saddle once again, he leaned forward and urged his horse to a speed that was unsafe in the woods where a fallen tree branch or random hole could cripple or kill if unseen. Praying to the Gods for luck, he rushed on, mind filled with of all of the things that could happen to an unconscious body alone in the woods.
The fire was low and in a safe spot, so it should burn for a few hours, and the snow would melt away which would prevent her from growing too cold if the fever somehow broke before he got back. His biggest worry was the fever spiking, Lyric waking, delirious, and wandering off from the camp. She would be safe from animals in the tent with a fire close by and the smell of an alpha around her, but if she left that area she could stumble into all kinds of danger.
Pushing the horse until the trees whipped by in a blur, Raider grit his teeth and held on. As the ground began to rise and grow rocky, it forced him to slow. If him or his horse were injured there was no one to care for Lyric, and they would both be stranded, wounded and alone.
Raider’s heart thundered in his chest as he continued to ride, the trees thinning around him as it became too rocky for them to take root. Breaking into the open, his head craned back, searching the cliffs before him for the dark entrance of a cave.
Not seeing any hint of an opening, he was forced to decide which direction to continue his search. There was a chance that he would pick wrong, wasting precious time searching in one direction when what he needed was just beyond the curve of the cliff in the other.
Shaking his head and letting out a snarl that made his horse shy beneath him, Raider headed towards the west, knowing that the fungus grew in the caves where this ridge passed into his territory, but hoping to find one long before he made it that far.
His heart was sinking, and he was doubting his decision before he thought he caught sight of an opening. In the darkening sky, it was hard to be sure he wasn’t just seeing a shadow cast by the descending sun, but he had to take the chance.
Above the height of the nearby trees, it forced Raider to tether his horse to a nearby boulder to climb the cliff face towards the dark spot containing his hope. A few scrapes, a racing heart, and a lot of cursing saw him dragging his body onto the floor of a small cave.
His arms burned from the unfamiliar strain and blood dripped from the fingertips of his left hand as he stood, keeping his shoulders hunched and head ducked under the low ceiling. Taking a rush light from his pouch, he lit it and began moving deeper into the cave. He didn’t have many of them, but he was glad he had thought to bring them just in case. The fungus only grew where there was no light, which meant having to stumble through a dark cave with nothing more than a flicking flame to light the way.
Once he was far enough in that he couldn’t see the light from the cave mouth, Raider paused, listening for the sound of water. Not all caves would have water flowing through them, but if there was, that would be the fastest way to find the fungus. Not hearing anything other than his labored breaths, he grumbled and moved on, keeping his left hand against the wall as he searched for signs of moisture.
It took him a few more minutes of stumbling over the rough ground before his trailing fingers met fuzzy patches where before there was cold, hard rock. Holding the rush light closer to the wall, a triumphant grin split Raider’s face. Wiping bloody fingers on the edge of his shirt so he didn’t soil the fungus, he pulled out his knife, scraping the fuzz from the wall in sheets. Once he had stuffed his pouch with as much as it could hold, he lit a new rush light and made his way back to the entrance of the cave.
Carefully making his way back down the cliff face, Raider rushed to his horse’s side, freeing him and swinging into the saddle in one smooth movement. Retracing his path, Raider was dismayed at how dark it had become. From the cave mouth it had seemed brighter, but back beneath the trees full night had already descended.
Having to move slower since they could no longer see the ground, Raider bit back his frustration, telling himself he would get to Lyric soon, and she would be well enough to move by morning. He had never seen an infection that the fungus couldn’t treat as long as they applied it to the wound before it became septic.
By the time the embers from the fire he had left came into view, Raider had been gone far longer than he had hoped to be, and should have been at the meeting point where his men would be waiting for him. Hoping nothing had befallen them and they had all made it to safety, he had no choice but to push the worry from his mind. Lyric needed his focus right now if he was going to get her well enough to move on. Since the men were on his land by now, they would wait for either him or the wagons before moving on, and he hoped to be with them by then.
Pulling the saddle from his horse and giving him a rough rub down so the sweat wouldn’t freeze on his back, Raider stirred up the fire before ducking into the tent to check on the little omega that made him feel so protective.
22. Lyric
Lyric moaned, raising her hands to rub at burning eyes that refused to open. Tongue thick and glued to the top of her mouth, her throat felt like she had swallowed a fire ember when she cried out at the pain in her shoulder as she moved her arm.
She had no idea how long she had been out, or what had happened. All she remembered was being on the back of the horse heading to Raider’s territory and her head throbbing more and more as it felt like she was basking in the summer sun.
Cracking one tear-filled eye open to look at the source of her pain, it surprised her to see a black powdery substance coating the bare skin of her shoulder. There was no bandage covering it, and the wound looked puffy and red beneath the soot.
“Your wound became infected and you passed out from the fever. That’s sherov krindar, the powdered version of a fungus that draws out infection. It must not have been too bad yet since I only put it on you a couple of hours ago and your fever has already dropped.”
Raider’s rough voice came from near her feet, and she tried to tip her eyes to where he was without moving her neck or shoulder.
“It hurts,” she rasped out.
Shifting forward, Raider’s bulk hovered over her, gently lifting her head and pressing his water bottle to her lips. Though him moving her hurt, she sucked greedily at the slightly warm water, moaning as the tissues of her mouth and throat came back to life.
“I have more of the pain medicine if you want,” he said once she had finished the whole bottle.
Hesitating, Lyric nodded, knowing they needed to keep traveling and aware that she wouldn’t be able to handle the pain of movement if it remained this bad.
“I’ll be back in a moment,” Raider said as he stood and slipped from the tent.
Probing her swollen, sore flesh, she could still feel the heat of infection in the tissue, but Lyric figured she must be better than she had been since she was conscious again. There didn’t appear to be any pus leaking from the wound, and there was no smell that she could notice.
Lyric thought about trying to sit up, but just the idea of moving had her wincing at the memory of the pain when she had woken up. Raider hadn’t said they needed to get moving yet, so she would continue to lay there and wait until she no longer had a choice.
When he ducked back into the tent, she realized the bits of sky she could see behind him were dark, and the light coming through the side of the tent must be from a fire.
“Weren’t we supposed to meet the others by now? Won’t they be looking for us?”
“Yes, we were supposed to meet them, but they will remain at the meeting spot until either I or Barshul reaches them. We can catch up with them in the morning. For now, you still need rest,” Raider said kneeling down next to her.
Looking up at him, Lyric tried to find his eyes. With the light behind him, his face was shadowed, and she could barely make out the gleam from his dark gaze.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered.
“For what?”
Sliding his hand under her good shoulder again to cup the back of her head, he raised her up to drink the medicine he ha
d mixed in the bottle. Trying to get it over with as quickly as possible, she chugged the water, coughing and sputtering a little as the acrid taste spread over her tongue.
Gasping for air once the bottle was empty, she finally replied.
“For making you have to stop before we made it back to your men.”
Meeting his eyes again, he held Lyric in place when his other hand gripped her chin.
“I’m sorry for injuring you. If I hadn’t, you never would have gotten ill. Or if I had given you more time to rest and changed your bandages properly, you would have been more able to heal. It’s not that you’re not strong enough, you’ve just been through a lot in a short time.”
His husky voice was quiet, a whisper she almost had to strain to hear as she looked up into the darkness hiding his features. Thumb stroking over her bottom lip, he continued to look down at her before pressing his lips to her forehead.
“You need to rest,” Raider said, laying her back down. “Go back to sleep.”
Raider settled next to her, stroking Lyric’s hair as the length of his body pressed against her right side. Letting out a sigh, she tried to examine the confusion flooding her mind as she stared at the fabric keeping out the winter wind. Raider seemed to contradict himself at every turn, and she wasn’t sure what to think anymore. In one breath he says she is nothing more than a captive and a valuable commodity, while in the next he treats her like he cares about her being sick and hurting.
Deciding her head still hurt too much to deal with his discrepancies, Lyric closed her eyes, knowing she would need the rest to be able to ride again in the morning. Saying a silent prayer to the Gods that he would take it easier than he had that afternoon, she tried to quiet her mind.
“Talk to me. Tell me about your home, your men, anything,” she whispered.
Raiser was silent for a moment before she felt him take a deep breath.
“It is the tradition of my clan for a boy to take a new name when he presents as an alpha. Barshul means bear in my language. My second chose that name because when we were children, a bear cub chased him up a tree. He was screaming as he ran, thinking it was an adult until he looked down and realized how small it was. The other boys were all laughing at him, so to save his reputation, he jumped down onto the cub’s back, riding it like a wild stallion until it shook him as it dove under the mother who had been behind some bushes. Instead of running, he stood and roared at the mother bear. She stared down at him like she didn’t know what to make of him, and instead of attacking, turned and ambled away, casting glances over her shoulder at the crazy man-child.”
